Kuala Lumpur (VNA) – Vietnamese Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh had separate meetings with Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney on the sidelines of the 47th ASEAN Summit and Related Summits in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, on October 26.
The Vietnamese leader hoped that Canada will step up cooperation with and support Vietnam in areas where Canada has strengths and Vietnam has needs such as aviation, energy, training of civil nuclear engineering experts and especially providing more scholarships for Vietnamese students to contribute to further deepening people-to-people exchanges between the two countries.
He also proposed the Canadian Government to create more favourable conditions for the Vietnamese community in Canada to live stably, develop and contribute further to the good relationship between the two countries.
The two leaders agreed on the need to continue to enhance and deepen the bilateral relationship through high-level external activities, thus further increasing political trust.
They also discussed a number of measures to make economic, trade and investment cooperation an important pillar of the Vietnam – Canada relationship, on the basis of effectively exploiting the complementarities between the two economies and taking advantage of the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP), opening the market, facilitating investment and connecting supply chains in a sustainable and mutually beneficial manner.
Sharing his personal sentiments since visiting Vietnam in 1991, PM Carney expressed his impression of Vietnam’s socio-economic development achievements and growing international position. He affirmed that Canada considers Vietnam an important partner in the Indo-Pacific region, a bridge and trade gateway to the region.
Agreeing with the specific proposals that PM Chinh made on promoting cooperation between the two countries, the Canadian leader said he expects to further promote cooperation with Vietnam in the fields of energy, mining, and aviation technology.
The two sides agreed to coordinate more closely at regional and global multilateral forums, especially the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and the United Nations, and make positive contributions to strengthening multilateralism and international law. The Canadian side expressed its desire to work with Vietnam to promote the completion of negotiations on the ASEAN-Canada free trade agreement, and affirmed to continue active cooperation in 2026 when Vietnam assumes the role of Chairman of the CPTPP Council.
On this occasion, PM Chinh respectfully invited PM Carney to visit Vietnam soon to discuss specific measures to elevate the good cooperative relationship between the two countries to a new level. The Canadian leader happily accepted the invitation.